The Prime Minister of Niger, Mohammad El Amin Zain, who was elected to this position by the military council of this country, demanded the immediate departure of the French ambassador from this country.

The leaders of the military coup in Niger announced last Thursday, August 31, that they had ordered the country's police to expel the French ambassador.

Niger’s junta, which seized power in a coup on July 26, ordered French ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours on Friday, the foreign ministry said.

Niger's Ministry of Defense announced that 17 soldiers of Niger's army were killed yesterday following an attack near the country's border with Mali.

West African defence chiefs have drawn up a plan for potential military intervention if Niger's coup is not overturne.

Eighteen soldiers were killed when "terrorists" struck an army camp in western Niger, the government said Tuesday, adding the US and France had provided air support to help repel the assault.